Air Jordan 2 Release Dates
Peter Moore and Bruce Kilgore pushed the basketball sneaker boundaries in 1986 with the Air Jordan 2 (II). Jordan's second signature shoe was intended to personify elegance and luxury on the court, but it was ahead of its time. Moore and Kilgore’s approach towards the Air Jordan 2 was truly unique as the silhouette would be made in Italy and was constructed of faux lizard skin and premium leathers— both of which were unprecedented for basketball sneakers at the time. After the release of the Air Jordan 2, Moore and Kilgore left Nike. Enter Tinker Hatfield. Discover more about the Air Jordan 2 here.
Originally released in 1986-87, the Air Jordan 2 was designed by Peter Moore and Bruce Kilgore. Handmade in Italy, the AJ 2 boasted premium Italian leather, faux lizard skin, and signature Nike Air cushioning. Unlike its Jordan 1 predecessor, the Air Jordan 2 did not feature Swoosh branding. Instead, Nike branding was paired with the Air Jordan Wings logo, separating it from the rest of their basketball line.
The Air Jordan 2 was the final signature Air Jordan sneaker to feature the Wings logo as it was replaced by the iconic Jumpman logo that we all love and cherish, with the debut of Tinker Hatfield’s Air Jordan 3 in 1988. The Wings logo laid dormant for many years but has been resurrected on various models, such as the Air Jordan 31, and Nu’ Retro Air Jordan 1 Low. Produced in the least amount of colorways for any Air Jordan launch, the Air Jordan 2 originally came in white/black and white/red only, in high-top and low-top iterations.
When Michael Jordan retired from the NBA following the 1993-94 NBA season, Nike re-released the Air Jordan 2, with the AJ 1 and 3 following suit. Only the original white/black colorway returned, but it did release in high and low-top form. 2004 would mark the first retro run for the Air Jordan 2, spanning three high-top and two low-tops, with two more lows, one for men and the other for women, in 2005. The AJ 2 got its second retro run in 2010, and then returned once more in 2016.
The Air Jordan 2 has been released sporadically over the past 5+ years, mainly coming in special edition colorways or collaborations. While Virgil Abloh and his Off-White imprint marked the comeback of the AJ 2, it wasn’t until Holiday 2022 when it would have another GR (general release) run, going well into 2023. To this day, the Air Jordan 2 is still arguably the most underrated sneaker of all time.
